QM2 Eastbound Transatlantic, August 28, 2012

[Cats2010]

Beautiful, thank you so much. I hope to read from you again!

[capnpugwash]

Thanks Roy, continue to enjoy the remainder of your trip.

[buckirj1]

Many thanks for the reports so far. I hope you have a wonderful journey on the next leg. I'm looking forward to reading about it.

[Oahucruiser]

Have you ever noticed how many people read your trip reviews? At this point there are 1572 "views" of what you are presently posting. It'll be wonderful to continue with you on the Symphony and will interesting to read about how you are getting from Southampton to Dover. Enjoy!!

[rafinmd]

Thank you, capn, oahacruiser, cats2010, and Rita.

 

It was another gray North Atlantic morning with no visible sun as I completed my 5-mile walk about 7. About 8 our days of ocean solitude were broken by the P&O Aurora passing close to our starboard.

 

There was a full day of Cunard Insights activity but I had to watch most as reruns on TV. Things started off at 10 with John and Mary Maxtone-Graham talking about "All you wanted to know about passengers but were too polite to inquire". The questions people ask and some of the answers given are really astounding, as in "Q:How far is land", "A:2 1/2 miles", "Q:I don't see it-where", "A:straight down". At 11, Andy Green presented "Impacts and Things that go bump". At the same time the official navigation chart was auctioned off, raising $500 for the Prince's Trust. Following the Auction Keith chatted for almost an hour with Captain Wells.

 

At noon Captain Wells reported we had gone 502 Nautical miles since yesterday, 2850 from New York, with 286 Nautical miles remaining to Southampton and 390 to Dover. It remained cloudy with mild winds and slight (1-4ft) seas. We had our final advance of the clocks at noon, now on London time.

 

Will Friedwald closed out the Cunard Insights program at 3:30 with "Elvis-The man and his music". Unfortunately, that was also the start of tea time so I was down in the Queens Room enjoying tea, a scone, and Fiona McGee at the harp. I caught the last few minutes of Friedwald's program and hope to catch the rest of it on TV.

 

This evenings farewell show was a variety performance by singer Jeri Sager and piano showman Craig Dahn. It was closed with a tribute to Sting by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers.

 

This afternoon I was facing a total block on finding a parting shot, and thought I might close without one. Suddenly, the possibilities came flooding in and I could barely choose.

 

First, this is my 6th QM2 transatlantic and I really think the best to date. My first crossing was totally unimpressive as I can 't remember one QM2 crew member ever addressing me by name, all the subsequent ones have been much better (save perhaps the second where I injured my knee in Africa and could barely hobble around, not Cunard's fault). This time my service was excellent, I had just a few but great tablemates, Cunard Insights was fabulous, the CC group was wonderful, and we had great weather. The glass was not half full, the glass was FULL, and it probably helped my mood that two days hence the glass will overflow.

 

Second, I think of the people preparing to board QM2 tomorrow (or continue on a grand voyage). The Iberian peninsula and Barcelona are wonderful and you should have a great time. Bon Voyage.

 

Third, the Crystal Symphony is in Portland today and Guernsey tomorrow. For the people on her, your time is drawing to a close. Savor the time you have left on that magnificent ship. A few of you are staying on for the transatlantic voyage and I look forward to meeting you soon.

 

Finally the parting shot. While at sea, it almost escaped me that today is Labor Day, I'm quite sure both in the US and the UK. To all the active workers I hope you had a great holiday. One group of people not enjoying the holiday were the crew of QM2. While some were celebrating they were taking care of our needs and wishes. While some things had no immediate urgency and could have been deferred, I became aware through some PA messages that crew were still doing things like training for emergency situations. I am quite sure the crews on Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, Crystal Serenity, Crystal Symphony, as well as many other ships around the world were doing the same. Thank you for your dedication and service. I am sure there are many things we can do to show our appreciation but I'll suggest that a good start would be to give them the cooperation and attention they have earned when we have our emergency drill on Wednesday. 15 minutes of our time for countless hours of theirs. A bargain.

 

Roy

[Cats2010]

Thank you again, Roy, for your nice words, and how right you are about the staff!

I am already looking forward curiously to your next report from Crystal Symphony and wonder what the difference is between the two as regards their "behaviour" at sea (even though I think I know the answer, since I am "addicted" to QM2). ;)

Best wishes for a happy return.

[capnpugwash]

Roy, welcome to England and I'm glad that you enjoyed Mary! Travel safely.

[spursdebs]

Hi Roy welcome to England, I really enjoyed your trip report, and your style of writing, I have to wait till October 2013 for my turn.

 

Deb

[rafinmd]

Thank you spursdebs. May October 2013 come qickly. Thank you capnpugwash. I took note of the signs for Surry on the first leg of my journey to Dover.

 

Hi Roy. Enjoying your posts and photos on your blog. Curious how you like the atrium-view stateroom. Do you get any noise from below? I think it would be nice to have some light in the room.

 

Rob

 

Rob, a bit of a followup comment. I was never bothered by noise but it does seem to be possible. I did hear the QM2 choir (not especially loud) when they sang in the Atrium Monday afternoon. I certainly did not find that a problem but some sound can carry over.

 

Thank you again, Roy, for your nice words, and how right you are about the staff!

I am already looking forward curiously to your next report from Crystal Symphony and wonder what the difference is between the two as regards their "behaviour" at sea (even though I think I know the answer, since I am "addicted" to QM2). ;)

Best wishes for a happy return.

 

I would not really say I'm a "fan" of QM2, but after saying that my 6th crossing (5 of which I chose with a knowledge of what to expect) was the best yet, I can obviously see some good points in it. I'm going to suggest there are 3 types of ships. QM2 is in a class by herself. Perhaps most were build for the calm waters of the Caribbean with the capability to go elsewhere occasionally. Finally, some (I'd suggest QV, QE, and the Crystal ships all fall here) were built for world wide cruising, well prepared for rough weather but not expecting it as an every day occurrance. While I have seen a rogue storm make life interesting on the Symphony, I would expect it to take typical North Atlantic weather quite well in stride. We'll see how things look this time, but I expect a very nice trip. It will also be interesting to see how my QE crossing next year compares with QM2 and Symphony.

 

My travel clock was packed but I posted a wakeup call for 5AM. At that time we were 8 Nautical miles from Southampton and moving along some narrow approach channels in a pretty thick fog. I walked 5 laps on the Promenade deck as we made our way up the channel. We started nosing into Ocean terminal a little after 6 and the lines were out about 6:20. When he welcomed us to the port Captain Wells reported that it had been clear overnight but that the fog began as we were entering the harbor.

 

I had actually cheated a bit (or at least planned to) on disembarkation. Cunard runs a staged disembarkation by deck starting from the top and I was to be quite late. I shared a transfer to Dover with 4 others, all of whom were in Princess Grill. They were due to leave an hour earlier than I was from my deck 5 cabin. One of them offered me an extra bag tag which put my big bag among those from the Princess Grill, and I was planning to leave when that group was called.

 

As a World Club platinum holder I had a dedicated disembarkation lounge and waited there. There was a long delay in calling the bag tags but at 9:20 a call came that anybody in the lounge could leave. Despite our attempts to game the system, I'd have been in plenty of time for our ride with my regular tags.

 

I was out of the terminal at 9:45. Our Smiths for Airports transfer had been scheduled for 10, the driver actually appeared a few minutes after that and we were on the road about 10:20. Our route took us close to London but we turned south as we approached London and never got caught in it's traffic. As my final noon report at noon today we were at a refreshment stop on the M20, 49 Nautical miles or 65 highway miles from Dover. Three of us checked into the Best Western Marina about 1:20 while the other 2 were taken to a local B&B.

 

As I think I mentioned yesterday, this has been my best QM2 crossing to date It has been simply wonderful.

 

This concludes my time on QM2 for this year, if anybody would like to see the sequel it is at http://crystalautumntrio.wordpress.com or at

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1695405&page=99

 

Roy